


Loopholes are Made to be Exploited

by boredom



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Awesome Shuri (Marvel), BAMF Peter Parker, BAMF Shuri (Marvel), Gen, Genius Shuri (Marvel), Humor, Peter Parker & Shuri Friendship, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:40:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22471963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boredom/pseuds/boredom
Summary: Shuri and Peter have been forbidden from going on any "adventures" together unless an Avenger or Avenger Ally is present. They find a way around this rule quickly enough.
Comments: 18
Kudos: 204





	Loopholes are Made to be Exploited

**Author's Note:**

> I love all of the head cannons around Peter and Shuri’s friendship. It’s the exact kind of chaos friendship that I crave. So here is my little addition to the idea. Also, don’t really care who’s in or out of character. I’ve got a soup of TV, movie, and comic canon all swimming in my head. Have fun.

When Tony first thought of this little arrangement, he saw no downsides. Shuri was, quite possibly, the smartest person he had ever met. Peter was also very intelligent and Tony was hoping that putting the two of them together would create a hypercompetent team for the future when the Avengers were all too old (or dead) to continue the hero business. He forgot that teenagers had their agendas and rarely made rational decisions. 

“Why did you think it was a good idea to go searching for Atlantis?” T’Challa groaned. 

Shuri and Peter were sitting, soaking wet and covered with seaweed, on Tony’s couch. 

“We have the tech,” Shuri said. 

“And I was researching Plato for history class and he basically gave the exact location. I just had to do some work with the numbers.” 

“We didn’t know Atlantians were a hyper-militant who would shoot us down. I didn’t think to equip the ship with lasers! Why would you equip a deep-sea vessel with lasers?” She threw her hands in the air before slouching back, the perfect picture of sulking teenager.

Tony ran a hand down his face. “Even if there were no Atlantians, didn’t you realize how dangerous it was for you to go down there without anyone knowing?” Was this what being a parent felt like? Dear God, how did anyone do it? Why did anyone do it?

Peter and Shuri made some sort of noise to indicate they didn’t think that far ahead. Typical teenagers. 

T’Challa took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t mind you two hanging out. Except when you turned the floor into lava that one time.” 

“If you refuse to play the game, there are consequences,” Shuri said. 

Tony shivered and didn’t ask any questions. The dynamic between these two was weird enough. 

“But you guys can’t go on any more… adventures together.” 

The teens groaned. He almost relented. Almost. God, when did he become responsible? 

“It’s too dangerous. What am I going to tell mother if you die?” T’Challa asked. 

“But Mr. Stark,” Peter said, “What else are we going to do if we can’t do anything?” 

“I don’t know! Play Mario Kart, spin the bottle, prank call people.” What else did teenagers normally do? “Rebel against authority?” Yeah, that sounded about right. “There are millions of teenagers on this Earth right now that do not have the luxury of creating space ships and they have rich and fulfilling lives.” 

“If you want to do something, ask one of us to go with you. Or another Avenger.” T’Challa suggested. 

Peter and Shuri acted as if they had just been told the family was moving to Iowa to take up farming. 

“A chaperone, Mr. King T’Challa, sir? Really?” 

“I can’t believe you’ve done this.” Shuri was shaking her head. 

“My life is over! There is no joy or meaning!” 

Tony took another deep breath and rolled his eyes. “Really? Quit being dramatic. It’s for your good.” He nearly choked on the words. Responsibility was not fun in the slightest. He’d never hear the end of it from Pepper. 

T’Challa seemed to pay no mind. “Shuri, come on. I have to get to a meeting and you smell like a dead whale.” 

Shuri and Peter sniffed. 

“Flippy will be remembered for his sacrifice.” Shuri clasped his hand. 

“We’ll hold a candlelight vigil.” 

“I’ll make it a national day of remembrance in Wakanda.” 

“Like hell, you will. Come on.” 

“Peter, get back to your Aunt’s house.” 

Both teenagers shuffled out of the living room. Tony had faith that Peter and Shuri would follow the rules. They regularly skirted around them, but they never outright broke them. Now that they had established an Avenger had to be with them whenever they wanted to do something on the dangerous side of fun, he was certain they wouldn’t have any more near-death incidents. Besides, all the Avengers were extremely competent and mature people. Tony would trust any of them with the kids. 

oOoOoOo

“I thought of a loophole.” Shuri wasted no time grabbing Peter and pulling him down to her lab the next time he visited Wakanda. 

Ever since her brother (the traitor) and Stark had ganged up on them, she had been trying to think of a way around it. The universe was so big and there was so much to explore. And yet, she couldn’t do any of it because they had to have a stupid adult with them at all times. 

“Loophole to what?” Peter asked. 

Shuri shot him a look.

“Oh, right, the stupid rule about chaperones.” 

“It’s no fair. They act like they were perfect teenagers growing up when I know for a fact they weren’t. Do you know how many fights Steve Roger’s got into as a teenager?” 

“And yet he makes weird after-school PSA’s about following the rules.” Peter shook his head. “But you’ve figured out a way around the rule?’ 

Shuri smiled. “Not so much a way around. We’re going to follow it to a T.” She pulled up a list of all Avengers and allies they were allowed to ask to be chaperones. “I created an AI program that would look for the adults who would be most lax in their chaperoning duties.” 

Peter nodded and flipped through the images. 

“Some of them, like Dr. Strange and Captain Marvel, probably wouldn’t want to go with us. They’re too busy or they don’t care. Some of them, like Dr. Banner, wouldn’t mind going with us but would be buzzkills. And I’m pretty sure Stark doesn’t even count the Guardians of the Galaxy as potential chaperones, so they're out.” 

Peter pulled up a picture. “So you think he’s the best bet.” 

Shuri nodded and patted his shoulder. “I think he is the best bet. You chose the last adventure, so I get to choose this one.” 

“Fair enough, let’s get going.” 

oOoOoOo

When Thor opened the door, Shuri could barely contain her excitement. 

“Princess Shuri, Young Peter, to what do I owe the pleasure?” 

Peter was next to her, nearly vibrating out of his skin. Shuri didn’t blame him. This was going to be awesome. 

“Mr. Thor, sir, Shuri and I were wondering if you wouldn’t mind chaperoning us on an adventure.” 

“We also want to know if Loki, Valkyrie, and Korg could join us,” Shuri added. 

Thor looked suspicious. “What sort of adventure do you want to go on?” 

“We want to overthrow a fascist space government!” Shuri exclaimed. 

“It’ll be good practice for when we need to overthrow the American government once it becomes a dictatorship.”

Shuri emptied a bag at Thor’s feet, her latest projects and gadgets crashing to the ground. “I made functioning lightsabers, blasters, and ‘force-gloves’ so that we can pretend to be Jedi.”

“Also, if it’s not too much to ask, can we make sure the fascist government is made up mostly of robots? I don’t want to kill anyone.” 

“We can defeat all of the robots and then put the head honcho in space jail.” 

Thor stared at them. 

They stared back. 

It felt like the entire Earth stood still, waiting for Thor to respond. Would he say yes? Would he say no? Shuri couldn’t breathe. This was the only opportunity for them to get some actual fun while still, technically, following the rules. 

Thor laughed and hugged them both. “That is what I like to hear. Brother, the spider child, and chaos gremlin wish to do battle!” 

“What? Like in Fortnite?” 

“No, real battle!” 

There was a crash followed by some cursing. Loki stumbled out, not looking as regal as Shuri expected. 

“I’m in. Who are we going to kill?” 

Back in New York, Tony got a call. 

“Where are the kids, Stark?” T’Challa asked; his tone about two tones away from being threatening. 

“I don’t know. I thought Peter was going to Wakanda for a few days.”

“Well, neither of them are here, and everything Shuri’s been working on the past few weeks has disappeared.” 

The sinking feeling in his gut was replaced with disappointment. Shit, he was seriously turning into one of those ‘I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed’ people. 

He sighed and willed away an oncoming migraine. It only partially worked. “Let’s start calling around and seeing if anyone’s heard from them.” 

T’Challa shook his head. “I cannot lose Shuri. Do you know what my mother would do to me?” 

“Do you know what May would do to me if I lost her kid?”

T’Challa was silent for a second. “So what you’re saying is, we’re both screwed?” 

“I’ll call Clint, you see if Bucky knows anything.” Tony was going to kill these kids. 

oOoOoOo

“I am a god among men!” Shuri shouted as she mowed down another wave of robots.

“Take that, Space Hitler!” Peter leaped over a squadron with a single bound, lightsaber effortlessly slicing through the metal. 

Thor was in the middle, letting the robots surround him before releasing a blast of lightning that wiped out a platoon. Loki had somehow managed to ingratiate himself with the fleshy leaders of the robots and had convinced them to join his side. He was currently making his way to Space Hitler’s palace to properly capture and overthrow him. Shuri was pretty sure Loki intended to take over the planet for himself, but Valkyrie had assured her that he had a shock collar on him that would knock him out if he got a bit too… tyrannical. 

“Oh, sorry about that. I’m a rock, nothing to be alarmed about,” Korg said as he bashed his way through the robots. “Just got to stop you from spreading tyranny through the rest of the galaxy. I also got to practice my rebellions. The first one I did wasn’t a success, but you know what they say, practice makes perfect.” Another robot went flying. “Perhaps a few more of these and I’ll be set to start my own. What do you think?” 

“This is way better than playing Mario Kart.” Shuri grinned and went in for another attack.

“And we are technically following Mr. Stark’s suggestion to rebel against authority.” 

Valkyrie had ripped the arm off of a robot and was using it as a gun, grinning and laughing as robot after robot was destroyed. “When this is all over, drinks are on me!” 

“What’s the drinking age in Wakanda?” Peter asked. 

“Eighteen.” 

“What do you think the drinking age here is?” 

“Who cares, we’re overthrowing a fascist government!” 

Finally, the waves of robots started to slow. They were nearing the end of the battle, sweaty and hyped on adrenaline, Shuri had never felt more alive. This was the greatest day of her life. 

One more lightning blast from Thor ensured their victory and they regrouped. 

“All that’s left is the pathetic meat sack of a ruler.” Valkyrie pointed to the pristine mansion on the hill. “If Loki’s done his job, he should be easy pickings.” 

“Should I call Captain Marvel now, then?” Peter asked, holding up a phone. “I don’t think we should wait too long. Plus, I have to study for a biology test.” 

“Yeah, I don’t want mother to get mad if I’m gone for more than a few days.”

Thor clapped them both on the shoulders. “Call Captain Marvel so that she may properly dispose of this villain. Then, we shall get drinks to celebrate our victory and have you both home by the end of the day.” 

“Yes!”

“Yeah! You’re the best Avenger, Thor.” 

Thor’s smile faltered. “I’m also the strongest, correct.” 

Shuri and Peter looked at each other. 

“Eh…”

“I mean, how do you quantify strength when there are so many different forms.” 

“It’s not like you’ve had arm wrestling matches to determine anything.” 

Thor nodded and held up his hand. “All right, I get it. Let’s go deal with the tyrant and make sure that the tyrant isn’t Loki.” 

The palace looked like every dictator’s palace Shuri had ever seen. Pristine and opulent when the surrounding world was a wasteland of suffering. She was glad this guy was going away. There were still a few robot guards that needed to be taken out, but they were few in number and Valkyrie disposed of them easily. They entered the throne room and saw Loki lounging on it, the (presumably) former dictator chained at his feet. 

“Oh, dammit.” Loki cursed upon seeing Thor and the others step in. “Seriously, guys, I told you to keep him out.” 

“Loki, we talked about this. No more trying to take over governments.” 

Loki rolled his eyes. “Really, Thor? Really? This is who I am, you have to accept it. I was born to rule and you were born to fight. This isn’t Earth so you really shouldn’t be that upset about it. Besides,” he waved at a small ground of aliens in the corner, the very same group he had convinced to help with the overthrow earlier. “I’m really making progress on infiltrating the oligarchy. So in a few years…” He gestured that he and Thor could overthrow the oligarchy. 

Thor rolled his eyes. Valkyrie held up the control and pressed the button. Loki’s body convulsed and he crashed to the floor. 

“How many times has this happened?” Shuri asked while Korg rounded up the remaining fascists.

“Every week or so,” Thor explained. “He’s getting better though. He used to not want me here at all. Sakaar was a bonding moment for all of us.” He pulled Valkyrie and Korg into a one-arm hug. Korg hugged him back. Valkyrie looked very uncomfortable. 

Once Loki was done convulsing on the floor, Thor walked over and handcuffed him. 

“How long do we need to wait for Captain Marvel?” Shuri asked, poking around a destroyed robot. The technology was nowhere near as advanced as on Wakanda, which is why the battle had been so easy. Still, she was interested in the energy source of the robot and could probably reverse it in a few hours. She’d need Korg to help carry it back to the ship. 

“Oh, she’ll be here in a few minutes. She just got to the planet,” Peter said, reading over the text message. 

Right on cue, Captain Marvel descended from the ceiling. Her helmet disappeared. “Good work. This guy was on my hit list.” 

Shuri and Peter grinned. This had been a total success. She couldn’t wait for the next adventure. 

“You guys should probably get back though.” 

Her smile dropped. “Why?” 

Captain Marvel shrugged. “Wouldn’t want your guardians to get worried. I’ll take care of this guy.”

She had a point. The longer they stayed, the more trouble they would be in. 

“Got a point there. Maybe we should get a drink on Earth,” Shuri suggested. 

“Germany’s drinking age is pretty young. We can go there once we’ve checked in with Mr. Stark and King T’Challa.” 

“Wonderful,” Thor beamed. “A perfect end to a victorious battle.” 

The ride back was pretty short. The wormholes made things much quicker. 

“Let’s stop by Wakanda and let T’Challa know we’re going to Germany,” Shuri said. Surely he couldn’t reject the idea of them going to Germany? They could even visit a museum, make it educational. 

They got to the throne room and Shuri’s blood froze. Every avenger was sitting there, waiting for them. 

“Do you think Captain Marvel knew about this?” Peter asked as he took in the scene of a very angry Iron Man and Black Panther. 

Shuri didn’t answer and tried to put on her most innocent face. A face that said ‘I definitely did not exploit a loophole in your rule that took me and Peter off-planet to fight space nazis with lightsabers I created last week’. 

“Brother, what’s going on?” 

“Don’t 'brother' me,” T’Challa said. “We couldn’t figure out where you guys were.” 

“We were with Thor.” Peter patted Thor, who had an unconscious Loki slung over his shoulder. “You said we could do things if we had a chaperone, so we found a chaperone. Four of them, in fact.” 

Tony’s eye twitched and he looked about two seconds away from having a stroke. “We tried to give you guys some freedom, but this is ridiculous. Lucky for us, we don’t technically have to deal with you two.” 

Shuri and Peter exchanged looks. She didn’t understand what he meant. Then the door opened and in walked Aunt May and her mother. They both looked pissed. 

“There is my so very intelligent daughter. Intelligent enough to know she wouldn’t be allowed to go off-planet.” 

“Anything you want to say, Peter?” 

“We got a chaperone.” He gestured once more to Thor, who gave a wave.

“Oh, oh, I see. Does Thor fill out your school permission slips?”

“No, ma’am.” 

“Does Thor schedule your doctor’s appointments?” 

“No, ma’am.” 

“Does Thor claim you as a dependent on his tax forms?” 

“No, ma’am.” 

“Then why the hell would you think that having Thor along for the ride would make any of this okay? No offense.” 

“None taken. You are looking lovely.” 

“Thank you.” 

“We followed the rules, though!” Shuri knew she shouldn’t say anything. Each word she spoke was more ammunition for her mother to use. She couldn’t help herself, though. 

“Don’t you talk to me about rules. I am a lawyer!” her mother said. “I can argue circles around whether or not you followed the rules, young lady.” 

“To think you two were so incredibly reckless to… to… what were you doing?” 

“Fighting space nazis,” Peter said in a meek voice. 

Steve Rogers sucked in a breath. “Really, and you guys didn’t invite me?” 

“Steve!” 

“They were space Nazis, Bucky! Space Nazis! Fighting Nazis is kind of my thing.” 

“I’d be down for fighting space Nazis,” Hawkeye added. 

“It was a glorious battle.” Thor beamed. 

“We are getting shitfaced after this to celebrate. Want to come?” Valkyrie asked. 

Sadly, the conversation did not continue. Shuri and Peter weren’t done getting yelled at yet. 

“People are going to think you’re a hooligan. Are you a hooligan, Shuri?” 

“No, ma’am.” 

“Really, because you aren’t acting like the intelligent daughter I raised. What would your grandmother think?” 

“That’s it. Peter, no more after school activities, no more friends, and you can’t watch any movies on the flight back to New York.” 

“Ah, Aunt May, come on. The team needs me.” 

“Well, you should have thought about that before you fought space nazis with Thor.”

“Shuri, I’m locking you out of your lab for two weeks.” 

“But mom, I got a robot from the planet I want to dissect.” 

“Should have thought about that before you followed the letter of the law, but not the spirit of it.” 

Peter and Shuri looked at each other, both mourning the loss of their freedom. 

“And any time you two want to hang out together, it has to be either with Mr. Stark, T’Challa, Dr. Banner, or Dr. Strange.” 

Peter groaned. “Not Dr. Strange.” 

“That guy’s a dick!” Shuri added.

“I am right here.”

“We know.”

“You two are not in a position to argue with us. Now, Peter, come on. We’re going back to New York.” 

Peter shuffled out the door. “Yes, Aunt May.” 

“So I’m guessing our trip to Germany is out?” Thor asked. 

“Yes!” Came the unanimous reply.

“Shuri, go to your room.” 

“Yes, mom.”

She’d figure out another way for her and Peter to continue going on adventures. There was a whole wide universe to explore and so many things to learn! This wouldn’t last forever. She and Peter would be back at it again, kicking ass and taking names. For now, though, she had to devise a way to get back at T’Challa. Getting a sibling in trouble with a parent was the ultimate form of sibling betrayal. She and Peter would have to put their heads together. They were, after all, a hypercompetent team.

**Author's Note:**

> Do you know how hard it was to figure out which Avengers would be actual good role-models? They are all chaos demons who'd throw hands at the first opportunity. I trust none of them to tell Shuri and Peter no.


End file.
